The "M" motor is officially dead, no more unique/ground up M engines - BMW confirms all future M (S series) motors to be based on motors already in production

So you know that awesome BMW S85 V10 revving over 8000 rpm giving somewhat of a direct link to the Motorsport division that seemed equally at home in an Italian exotic as it did under the hood of a BMW sport sedan? Yep, that one with the individual throttle bodies, over 100 horses per liter, that won all those awards, and that you could not get anything like it in a 550i, 545i, 535i, 530i, 528, or 525i? You know, a real unique M motor made specifically for an M car and only available in an M car? Say goodbye to ever seeing that again.

From now on, every M motor will simply be based on an engine already in production. That means whatever cylinder count and block is already available in a chassis is all you will ever get standard model or M model be damned. The M purist has been moaning about this for years that BMW M motors will essentially just become their standard counterparts with some different software but the head of BMW M (Friedrich Nitschke) finally officially confirmed the days of the unique M motor built from the ground up by the M division are quite simply, over:

So the engines will be closer to the standard engines. We already see that in the N63/S63 motors a good example being the X5 50i and X5 M. For BMW this means huge cost savings and that certain internal parts do not even need to be changed. For example, the same pistons can be used for both an M and non-M motor now:

So don't expect to see anything made by the M-Division like an S54 ever again. Or an S38. Or an S65. Or an S85. Or an S14. Those are not motors you can just slap different software on and simply call M engines. The M division is officially dead kids along with BMW's pride, get it through your heads.

$#@!s weak, I might as well convince my dad to go on the CPO Porsche route at this point. The new M6 doesn't impress me nor do the newer 991 series. 997 Turbo/GT2 is the way to go my friends, that is if you're a true driving enthusiast.

$#@!s weak, I might as well convince my dad to go on the CPO Porsche route at this point. The new M6 doesn't impress me nor do the newer 991 series. 997 Turbo/GT2 is the way to go my friends, that is if you're a true driving enthusiast.

Porsche is doing this too only to a lesser degree. The direct injection blocks for the GT3, Turbo, Carrera S, etc., all are on the same assembly line now. At least the GT3 isn't just a Carrera S with a software induced higher redline.

Bad for M purists but great for people buying a lesser model with the intention of modifying it, there will be factory upgrades that are OEM quality in the M cars now. I am a glass is half full kind of person.

Bad for M purists but great for people buying a lesser model with the intention of modifying it, there will be factory upgrades that are OEM quality in the M cars now. I am a glass is half full kind of person.

This is definitely the way to look at it but what's the point of an M car now? More power? Yay...

This guy says straightline acceleration isn't what it is about yet that's exactly what they are making M cars all about. It's just AMG now but AMG is doing a better job.

Wow, I'm stunned. That's really the first step of the death of ///M. They'll just milk the cash cow with "M Performance parts" marketing BS as long as they can and leave the performance field to AMG. So sad.

I dont think so. Granted it was na in a good chassis. For the time difference they both are perfectly capable as m cars. The 1m's only downfall is it uses the same n54. The us spec e36's only downfall was it used a stroked bored m52.

For the time difference they both are perfectly capable as m cars. The 1m's only downfall is it uses the same n54. The us spec e36's only downfall was it used a stroked bored m52.

The US Spec E36 wasn't as much of a parts bin car and it did receive an internally designated "M" motor as you stated. Not as fancy as the S50B32 but for the time period not much was.

I wouldn't call them equally capable. One is an M car with M division touches, the other is a parts bin car that takes M bits from a sibling and the motor from standard 3-Series with only software changes. One of these cars follows the philosophy the head of M is laying out here in this article to a T and and it's not the E36.

Additionally, something people may be forgetting about the E36 M3 is that it is the only naturally aspirated M motor I can think of without individual throttle bodies which opens up some interesting forced induction options. Maybe a blessing in disguise.

Well I though they would take a turn again in the right direction. With Nitschke's statement in mind it's clear to me that the next M3/M4 engine will simply be a factory tuned N54 with a few minor changes maybe. Not a bad thing per se but certainly not what you would expect in the most important M car (from a sales numbers point of view at least).

I think this topic leans a bit too much on that an 'm car' is solely defined by the engine.
A lot of /m's also have a unique drivetrain/suspension setup with 100% different parts.
Sure the s50/s54/s65/s85 lineup is epic and beautifully constructed, but the 1m has a z4 n54 engine and m3 suspension setup and that has resulted in a great car too.
And in the past /m devision also has produced the s52 engine which was not that great. So the /Marketing part has been around for a few decades imho
Judge the car as it's true product, not by what badge it carries (x5m?.....get real)

Regarding the "M Motors", this was the elephant in the room & everybody knew this was a matter of time. Especially once the X5/X6 Ms came out with the S63, which was just a massaged N63 & then only confirmed with the S63 Tu in the M5/M6. I really hope that now that BMW has decided to ignore the heritage associated with the M3 badge by selling the M4 because it suits their new 4-series coupe marketing strategy, that they at least keep the M3/M4s engine a little more "M" then the highest engine option in the non-M 3 and 4 series.

Well I though they would take a turn again in the right direction. With Nitschke's statement in mind it's clear to me that the next M3/M4 engine will simply be a factory tuned N54 with a few minor changes maybe. Not a bad thing per se but certainly not what you would expect in the most important M car (from a sales numbers point of view at least).